Reinforced interlocking building block



Jan. 24, 1939. Jj A` WHl-rE Y 2,144,823

REINFOHCED INTERLOCKING BUILDING BLOCK Filed De. 3l, 1937 G 'ola IN V ENTOR.

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PatentedwJan. 24, 1939 REINFORCED INTERLOCKING BILDING BLOCK Joseph A.White, Berkeley, Calif.

Application December 31, 1937, Serial No. 182,736

7 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in a reinforced interlockingbuilding block, and it consists of the combinations, constructions andarrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a reinforced interlockingbuilding block, which is an improvement over the building block shown inmy Patent No. 1,451,000, issued April 10, 1923. In the patent I show abuilding block formed from concrete and designed to be arranged incourses for forming a wall. Novel means was employed for securing thecourses of blocks together and for attaching the interior finish to thewall.

In the present form of the device, I show a building block so designedthat adjacent blocks in a row Will interlock and the courses of blocksmay be secured together by vertical reinforcing rods that are disposedin aligned openings that extend vertically through the courses. The'blocks themselves, are reinforced with wire and the ends of certain ofthese wires are formed into circles that are arranged concentric withthe axes with the Vertical recesses or openings in the blocks. Thesecircular portions of the reinforcing Wires will therefore enclose thevertical reinforcing wires placed in the aligned openings with theresult that the complete wall structure will be provided with afabrication of steel so connected that it will withstand earthquakeshocks and the like.

The blocks of concrete are so designed that they will provide thedesired exterior finish to the wall. The vertical steel reinforcingwires used for connecting the rows 0f blocks together may extend intothe foundation and thus anchor the wall to the concrete foundation or toa supporting girder. Each block is provided with a recess and thealigned recesses in adjacent blocks will form dead air spaces in thecompleted wall. These spaces will act as an insulation for the wall andwill therefore be heat and cold resisting. This makes the walls dampproof and in addition the spaces can be used for receiving pipes,conduits, wires, etc.

The block is also so designed that it may form corners in the buildingwithout the necessity of providing special blocks for this purpose.Certain blocks may be altered slightly in shape to form the sides ofdoors and windows in the completed building. The wall constructed fromthe block will be lire proof, termite proof and substantially earthquakeproof. It is possible to build the wall of two rows of blocks in eachcourse, these blocks facing each other so that their combined recesseswill form a wall with a hollow (Cl. 'i2-40) interior. With thisarrangement, the wall will have a finished appearance on the outside aswell as on the inside.

The block has nailing members preferably made of wood and embedded inthe block. To these members, the interior wall construction may befastened. Since the block is precasted, it will eliminate the costlyform Work which is now necessary in constructing a concrete building.rIhe construction costs are therefore reduced to a minimum. 'Ihecompleted structure provides a homogeneous, thermal wall of precastreinforced concrete blocks, and the structure may be used as a retainingwall, an abutment, a buttress, a culvert, a cellar, etc.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the device will bey particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a partof this application, in which- Figure l is a plan view of two of theblocks arranged in an overlapping relation to form a portion of a wall;and

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure l, showing the interior of thewall.

The block is shownat A in Figures l and 2 and it comprises a centralportion I formed of concrete and two end portions 2 and 3. It will benoted from Figure 2 thatA the height of the portion i is twice that ofthe end portions 2 and 3 and that the portion 2 has its upper surface 4flush with the upper surface 5 of the block, while the portion 3 has itslower surface 6 flush with the lower surface 'I of the block. Theundersurface 8 of the portion 2 lies in the same plane as the uppersurface 9 of the portion 3 and this structure permits the blocks in thesame row to partially overlap each other.

rihe portions 2 and 3 are provided with central openings I0 and Il whichI prefer to call grout chambers. When the blocks in one row are placedso that the upper portion 2 of one block will overlie the lower portion3 of the adjacent block, then the opening Ill in the portion 2 of therst block will be aligned with the opening Il in the portion 3 of thesecond block. The next course of blocks disposed on tcp of the rstcourse, will also be so arranged that the openings in the portions 2 and3 will align with similiar openings in the lower course of blocks. Inthis way the entire wall can be built so that the openings |0 and Ilwill form grout chambers that extend throughout the entire height of thewall.

'Ihe openings I0 and I I are designed to receive vertical reinforcingrods I2. These rods may extend'throughout the entire height of the wallor they may be made shorter in length so as to extend through two ormore courses of blocks. A cementitious grout I2 is poured into thealigned openings and when set will provide reinforced columns that willconnect adjacent blocks in the same course together and that will alsoconnect superimposed blocks in adjacent courses together. In this waythe blocks in the entire wall are secured to each other` in a novelmanner.

As a further means of linking the blocks together, I provide reinforcingrods I3, I4 and I5 in the block A. These rods not only reinforce theconcrete in the block, but in addition are provided with circular endsthat enclose the openings I and II. I'he reinforcing wire I3, forexample has a circular end I that encloses the opening I in the portion2. 'Ihe wire I4 has two circular ends I1 and I8 and these ends enclosethe openings IIJ and II in the portions 2 and 3 respectively. The wireI5 has a circular portion I9 that encloses the opening II. Thearrangement is such that should the wall be severely shaken by anearthquake or the like, the reinforcing wires I3, I4 and I5 in adjacentblocks would engage with the vertical reinforcing rods I2 and wouldprevent any of the blocks from being shaken loose from the wall. Thewall when completed, is a homogeneous structure because of theconnection of the wires I3, I4 and I5 with the vertical wires I2, andthe concrete columns I2 extending through the aligned openings I0 and IIof overlapping blocks.

The portions 2 and 3 are so designed that the blocks may form corners inthe building. It will be noted from Figure 1 that the portions 2 and 3are square and this permits the block A, for example, to be lined upwith the block B, as illustrated, or the block A may be turned at rightangles to the block B. AIn this case the end wall 20 of the portion 2will lie flush with the outer surface 2I of the block B. The outersurface 22 of the block A will extend at right angles to the outersurface 2|. The arrangement of the portion 2 in each block, at a higherelevation than the portion 3, will permit the blocks to be disposed atright angles to each other to form the corners of the buildings and alsoto overlap each other.

It is also possible for the blocks to form the sides of doors andwindows. The block B shown in Figure 2 is of the type that is used toform a side of a window frame or a door frame. Instead of the endportion 2 being provided on the block B, and end portion 2a is providedand this portion extends throughout the entire height of the block. Theedge 20a of the portion 2a forms Y the side of the door or window. Thereinforcing Wires I3a and I 4a in block B are the same as the wires I3and I4 in the block A. The wire l5a, however, is provided with acircular end 23 that is concentric with the opening Illa in the portion2a. As many blocks B as necessary are disposed one above the other toprovide the sides for a door or a window of the necessary height. It isalso possible to form the lintels and head blocks in the same manner asthe block A, except that these blocks will be made long enough to extendacross the openings.

The block A is provided with a nailing member 24 in the portion 2 and anailing member 25 in the portion 3. Figure 1 shows the members 24 and 25as being wedge-shaped with the Widest portion of the wedges disposedadjacent to the openings I0 and II. The members 24 and 25 are preferablymade of wood or other material that will receive a. nail and the facesof the members lie flush with the inner sides 26 and 21 of the portions2 and 3. Figures 1 and 2 also show a furring strip 28 secured to themember 25. In like manner furring strips can be attached to the othermembers and they will form a base for laths or other interior wallfinish. In this way the interior nish of the wall may be secured to theblocks.

The block A is also provided with a recess 29 formed between theportions 2 and 3 and when this recess is covered by the interior of thewall, it will form a dead air space that will act as an insulation forthe building. The insulating given for the dead air space will keep thebuilding warmer in winter and cooler in summer. The recess can also beused for receiving pipes, conduits, wiring and other fixtures that arenecessary to form a completed building.

It ispossible to place two of the blocks A so that their recesses willface each other and a wall constructed in this manner will have a hollowinterior for insulating purposes and the exterior surfaces of the blockswill provide a finished outer surface for the wall and a finished innersurface. With this arrangement it is unnecessary to use the members 24and 25.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should beunderstood that various changes or modifications may be made within thescope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A concrete block having an outer face, and a recessed inner face,said block having cubeshaped integral portions disposed at the ends ofthe block, the under surface of one of the cubes lying in the same planeas the upper surface of the other cube, the outer face of the blocklying flush with two of the faces of the cubes.

2.V A concrete block having an outer face, and a recessed inner face,said block having cubeshaped integral portions disposed at the ends ofthe block, the under surface of one of the cubes lying in the same planeas the upper surface of the other cube, the outer face of the blocklying flush with two of the faces of the cubes, the cube portions of theblock having vertical openings therein adapted to align with similaropenings in adjacent blocks when the two or more blocks are arrangedwith their cube portions in overlapping relation.

3. A concreterblock having an outer face, and a recessed inner face,said block having cubeshaped integral portions disposed at the ends ofthe block, the under surface of one of the cubes lying in the same planeas the upper surface of the other cube, the outer face of the blocklying flush with two of the faces of the cubes, the cube portions havingvertical openings therein, and reinforcing wires embedded in the blockand having circular ends paralleling the circular walls of the openings.

4. A concrete block having an outer face, and a recessed inner face,said block having cubeshaped integral portions disposed at the ends ofthe block, the under surface of one of the cubes lying in the same planeas the upper surface of the other cube, the outer face of the blocklying ush with two of the faces of the cubes, and nailing membersembedded in the cube portions of the block and projecting through thefaces of the cubes that are disposed on the same side of the block asthe recess.

5. A reinforced concrete wall formed from concrete blocks, each blockhaving end portions of less height than the height of the block, one endportion being disposed at the top of the block at one end, and the otherend portion being disposed at the other end and at the bottom of theblock, the end of each block overlapping with the end of an adjacentblock, the block ends having openings that align with each other whenthe blocks are arranged in overlapping position, reinforcing rods placedin the aligned openings and concrete disposed-in the openings forcoacting With the rods for providing reinforced concrete columnssecuring the blocks together.

6. A reinforced concrete wall formed from concrete blocks, each blockhaving end portions of less height than the height of the block, one endportion being disposed at the top ofthe block at one end, and the otherend portion being disposed at the other end and at the bottom of theblock, the end of each block overlapping with the end of an adjacentblock, the block ends having openings that align with each other whenthe blocks are arranged in overlapping position, reinforcing rods placedin the aligned openings and concrete disposed in the openings forcoacting with the rods for providing reinforced concrete columnssecuring the blocks together, and reinforcing wires embedded in theblocks and having circular ends surrounding the openings.

'1. A concrete block having a recessed inner wall, one end of the blockhaving an integral cube-shaped portion with one wall lying flush withthe outer block wail, the other end of the block having a portion squarein cross-section and extending the full height of the block.

